With the start of the game delayed due to poor ice conditions, the ice crew continue to work on the ice surface prior to the start of hockey game between the Albany Devils and the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penquins at Boardwalk Hall, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 in Atlantic City. 12/12/2010 5:00:17 PM ACP

Minor-league hockey game at Boardwalk Hall canceled due to bad ice

Fans can go to another game or get refund

With the start of the game delayed due to poor ice conditions, the ice crew continue to work on the ice surface prior to the start of hockey game between the Albany Devils and the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penquins at Boardwalk Hall, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 in Atlantic City. 12/12/2010 5:00:17 PM ACP

ATLANTIC CITY - If there was any doubt that locals love their
ice hockey, all you had to do was go to Boardwalk Hall on
Sunday.

An announced crowd of 2,211 waited an hour for a game that never
happened.

An American Hockey League game between the Albany Devils and
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was canceled due to poor ice
conditions. A make-up date was not yet announced.

Fans in attendance were given a voucher for any future Albany or
Trenton games at Boardwalk Hall. Three additional minor-league
hockey games are scheduled for Boardwalk Hall in January and
February. Sunday's ticket-holders who choose not to attend a game
can receive a refund at the point of purchase, Val McGonigal,
director of marketing for Boardwalk Hall, said in an e-mail Sunday
night.

During warm-ups for the 4 p.m. game, the ice began to crack
under the weight of the players. Pieces of ice broke, creating
holes in the surface. Some pieces even came apart when players took
slap shots.

The holes were filled with cement and then frozen and smoothed
over using Zamboni machines, but workers could not salvage the ice
in time for a hockey game.

"I wouldn't play. The ice is that bad," said Fred Hubbard, 66, a
fan from Barnegat Township. "We were only coming today. We were
happy when we heard hockey was so close. We're originally from
Bergen County. I'm a Rangers fan. My wife is a Devils fan and we
used to go to games."

Hubbard and his wife, Kathy, 65, left before the cancellation
was announced, but most fans waited as music blared on the loud
speakers to provide some type of entertainment.

This was to have been the second of four Albany Devils games
scheduled for Boardwalk Hall this season. One week earlier, the
Devils played Adirondack Phantoms at the facility. There were no
major troubles with the ice surface during that game.

In addition to Albany's four games in Atlantic City, the Trenton
Devils of the ECHL will play at the arena on Jan. 23 against the
Wheeling Nailers. The Albany Devils do not return until Feb. 4,
when they face the Hershey Bears.

The bad ice conditions Sunday were related to a figure-skating
event held at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday night, "The Caesars
Tribute: A Salute to the Golden Age of American Skating." The ice
needed to be all white for Saturday's event, so workers added a
layer of ice to cover the hockey logos.

The crew arrived at 5 a.m. Sunday to ready the rink for the
game.

They shaved the ice down to the logos but went too far in some
spots. Those were the areas where the ice cracked and chunked
off.

"It was unsafe. It was unplayable," said the Penguins' top
player, Eric Tangradi, a Philadelphia native who had at least 15
friends and family in the stands. "It's definitely disappointing.
Hopefully, the building and the people will learn from this."

The ice needs to be at least three-quarters of an inch thick for
hockey, Boardwalk Hall general manager Greg Tesone said. However,
some parts were a half-inch thick or less after they shaved down to
the logos.

No one realized how thin the ice was until the players started
skating in warmups.

During the hour wait, the players took off their equipment and
felt as if they were in a baseball rain delay.

Many of them of them hung out on the bench in just their shorts
and a shirt.

As the ice crew tried to re-freeze the surface, many of the
lights in Boardwalk Hall were turned down to help cool the arena
and quicken the process.

"Our crew worked all night to cut the paint back out," Tesone
said. "You shave off ice until you to get back to the hockey ice.
We shaved too much. The ice got too thin. Those were the areas that
you saw broke off during warm-ups."

The cancellation was an unfortunate situation for Boardwalk Hall
and Atlantic City, which is trying to expand its entertainment
options during an economic slump.

Local hockey fans are looking at the five scheduled New Jersey
Devils minor-league games as a test to see if Atlantic City could
sustain a minor-league hockey team. The Dec. 5 game drew 5,134
fans.

The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL played in
Boardwalk Hall from 2001-2005 but left for Stockton, Calif.,
because of poor attendance.

"It's disappointing because it feels like we drove here for no
reason," said fan Maggie Hunter, 39, of Egg Harbor Township, who
brought her children, Jenna, 10, and Michael, 7. "We're going to
come back, but we hope something like this doesn't happen
again."